_____The law provides us structure to guide us through paralyzing and trying times. But it requires us a vision to its procedures and higher purposes. Before we assume our respective roles in this enduring drama just let me say that when these frail shadows we inhabit now have quit the stage we'll meet and raise a glass again together in Valhalla.

Report: US issues arrest warrants for former VW executivesUS authorities have issued international arrest warrants for five former VW managers and developers for their role in the Dieselgate scandal. Germany has reportedly refused to hand them over to the US.

http://www.dw.com/en/report-us-issues-arrest-warrants-for-former-vw-executives/a-39376848------------------------EU Said to Decide on EU1B Fine for Google on Wednesday

_____The law provides us structure to guide us through paralyzing and trying times. But it requires us a vision to its procedures and higher purposes. Before we assume our respective roles in this enduring drama just let me say that when these frail shadows we inhabit now have quit the stage we'll meet and raise a glass again together in Valhalla.

_____The law provides us structure to guide us through paralyzing and trying times. But it requires us a vision to its procedures and higher purposes. Before we assume our respective roles in this enduring drama just let me say that when these frail shadows we inhabit now have quit the stage we'll meet and raise a glass again together in Valhalla.

The current global leader in industrial robotic automation is South Korea. In this instance, the robotic density exceeds the global average by a good seven-fold (478 units), followed by Japan (314 units) and Germany (292 units). At 164 units, the USA currently occupies seventh place in the world.At 36 units per 100,000 employees or about half the global average figure, China is currently in 28th place. Within the overall global statistics, this is roughly on a par with Portugal (42 units), or Indonesia (39 units). However, about five years ago, China embarked on a historically unparalleled game of catch-up aimed at changing the status quo, and already today it is the world’s largest sales and growth market for industrial robots.Never before have so many robot units been sold in one year as were sold in China in 2014 (57,100 units). The boom is continuing unabated in line with the forecasts: In 2018, China will account for more than one-third of the industrial robots installed worldwide. -----------------------

Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG shares tumbled on concerns about potential antitrust collusion, adding to burdens from recalls of diesel vehicles.Daimler and Volkswagen informed antitrust regulators about decades of talks among German automakers on auto technology that may have breached cartel rules, Spiegel magazine reported Friday, citing a document submitted by Volkswagen in July 2016 and referencing another from Daimler. Germany’s Federal Cartel Office wasn’t immediately available to comment. Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW declined to comment. Volkswagen fell as much as 4.8 percent, the steepest intraday drop since Sept. 27, while shares of Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, declined as much as 2.9 percent and BMW slid 3.3 percent.BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen’s VW, Audi, Porsche brands met starting in the 1990s to coordinate activities related to their vehicle technology, costs, suppliers and strategy as well as emissions controls in diesel engines, Spiegel reported. The discussions involved more than 200 employees in 60 working groups in areas including auto development, gasoline and diesel motors, brakes and transmissions. Talks may have also involved the size of tanks for AdBlue fluid for diesel autos, the magazine reported. “These allegations look very serious and would mean more than 20 years of potential collusion,” said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Bankhaus Metzler. “There seems to be a never ending story of bad news about the industry’s bad behavior.”

The Spiegel report followed announcements by Audi and Mercedes this week that they’re recalling diesel vehicles to update pollution-control software amid probes by environmental authorities into potential emissions violations.

European carmakers are shoring up diesel as they need it to bridge the gap between tightening rules for greenhouse-gas emissions as they invest in ramping up electric-car plans. Authorities are scrutinizing the technology after Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to rigging cars to cheat on emissions tests. Cities such as Paris, Madrid and Mexico City are looking into banning the models because of air pollution concerns.Volkswagen’s Audi, which was reportedly involved in the collusion talks along with BMW and Porsche, is starting a voluntary recall of diesel cars, following a similar move by rival Mercedes. Audi will recall as many as 850,000 vehicles to update the software in Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines. Daimler’s recall involved over 3 million cars.---------------